All Entries Tagged With: "ipad wi-fi"

The folks over at AAPL Sanity Board have been crunching some numbers and have come up with what they think is a close estimate of the first day of pre-orders for the iPad. According to the group, around 120,000 iPads were sold. This was calculated by taking all of Apple’s orders for Friday (124,596) and subtracting the average number of online orders for other products (16,500) and multiplying the result by the number of iPads bought on average (1.11). Also, from their numbers, two-thirds of people got Wi-Fi only, and the different storage sizes were an approximately even split.

A separate Apple document filed with the FCC has disclosed a previously unknown difference in the dimensions between the iPad Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models. The document reports, the Wi-Fi + 3G model is 0.3mm taller and 0.1mm wider than the Wi-Fi only model, due to the 3G model’s top antenna panel. This is also in addition to a previously disclosed 0.1 pound difference in weight between the models, which was announced when the iPad was first introduced back in January.

Both versions of the the iPad, Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G, have appeared on the FCC’s (Federal Communications Commission) website. Although the user manual, external photos, and other materials are still being withheld at Apple’s request, there are several small discoveries to be made. Both models of the iPad have two Wi-Fi antennas, one that is shared with Bluetooth, and one that is not. These antennas cannot transmit simultaneously, are “fed with different power levels,” and are located in different places within the casing. Exact reason for the dual antenna configuration was not provided but it appears to be for reception diversity, allowing the iPad to decide which antenna is working better and switch between them, opting for the higher power version when needed.

Apple just confirmed that it will begin accepting online pre-orders for the iPad at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time/8:30 a.m. Eastern Time tomorrow. According to Apple’s prior announcement, U.S. customers will be able to pre-order both the Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + 3G models of the device, or reserve a Wi-Fi-only model for pick up at an Apple retail store. Apple will officially launch the Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad in the U.S. on Saturday, April 3, with Wi-Fi + 3G models expected to ship in late April.